GJ Town India

Synthetic, Laboratory-Grown Diamond Truths: Eco/Environmental Claims! Recently the Diamond Producers Association (DPA) launched an expanded offering of educational assets; Asset mix includes videos, photos, infographics and in-store signage, at JCK Las Vegas, adding to the already robust set of materials available on the DPA trade portal. The new asset package includes a free social media asset library that will be expanded regularly to help retailers feed their digital channels with fresh, insightful and compelling content for consumers. The social media asset mix includes both static images as well as video assets which drive to the recently released Total Clarity platform. Out of the mix, here is the key view that is being carried with DPA infographics: 1: Most eco-claims made by laboratory-grown diamond (LGD) manufacturers are unsubstantiated and in violation of U.S. federal guidelines. Many LGD manufacturers claim their products are environmentally frien

The Bill to replace the previous Ordinance, 2019 (12 of 2019) The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved to introduce a Bill, namely, the Special Economic Zones (Amendment) Bill, 2019 that is the Bill to replace the Special Economic Zones (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019 (12 of 2019).  The Bill will be introduced in ensuing session of the Parliament. After the amendment of sub-section (v) of section 2 of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005, a trust or any entity notified by the Central Government will be eligible to be considered for grant of permission to set up a unit in Special Economic Zones. The Special Economic Zones (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019 was promulgated on March 2, 2019. It amends the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 which provides for the establishment, development and management of Special Economic Zones for the promotion of exports. Definition of person: Under the Act, the definition of a person includes an indi

Over 450 brands offer their exclusive Range of Jewellery at the three-day B2B Fair Hyderabad Jewellery, Pearl and Gem Fair Showcases Splendid Collection Hyderabad Jewellery, Pearl and Gem Fair (HJF 2018), India’s premium B2B jewellery trade show, commenced its 12th edition today at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC), Novotel, Hyderabad. Chief Guest Shri. T. Padma Rao Goud, Deputy Speaker, Telangana; Mr. Mahendra Tayal, President, Hitech City Jewellers Manufacturers Association; Mr. Mukesh Agarwal, Convener, Hitech City Jewellers Manufacturers Association;   Mr.Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, UBM India and Mr. Abhijit Mukherjee, Group Director, UBM India inaugurated the fair in the presence of other dignitaries from the jewellery trade. Organised by UBM India, over the years the Hyderabad Jewellery, Pearl and Gem Fair has been a great platform for the Indian jewellery market, giving an excellent opportunity for the industry players to offer the

Silver and ruthenium coating to get rid of the microbes! Harmful bacteria can survive in space under zero-gravity conditions. That can make for some pretty unhealthy living and working conditions on the International Space Station (ISS), which has been continually inhabited since November 2000. One of the areas which scientists found particularly rife with bacteria is the toilet door. Such infestations are more dangerous for astronauts in space because prolonged time in orbit has been shown to reduce a person’s immune system. Microgravity, along with solar and cosmic radiation, changes the immune-regulatory system of the crew, leaving them more susceptible to pathogens. “Spaceflight can turn harmless bacteria into potential pathogens,” said senior study author Elisabeth Grohmann of Beuth University of Applied Sciences, Berlin, in a prepared statement.  “Just as stress hormones leave astronauts vulnerable to infection, the bacteria they carry become hardier -de

Retains SCS Global Services to Develop Sustainability Certification The Lab Grown Diamond Council (LGDC) trade organization has retained an internationally recognized third-party certifier and standards developer, SCS Global Services (SCS), to create the first sustainability standard in the diamond and jewelry market. Certification to this premier standard will involve a comprehensive assessment of the lab grown diamond production process, compliance auditing, diamond testing, and traceability, and will result in the issuance of SCS Sustainably Grown Diamond certification mark. This consumer-focused mark will be geared toward point-of-sale messaging and advertising. “As an industry, we recognize the high interest from consumers to be provided valid, third-party verification of the sustainability and origin of products they buy,” said Chris Casey, LGDC president. “An important early initiative as an organization was to retain SCS to drive transparent reporting on the

Harmonised standards Promote fair jewellery trade! Addressing the opening ceremony of the 7th European Gemmological Symposium in Idar-Oberstein, Germany, CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri called on the world's gemmological community to participate through CIBJO in the creation of harmonised sets of grading standards, practices and nomenclature, as part of an international effort to ensure the integrity of the jewellery market and to maintain consumer confidence. "We are not a commercial organisation, but our mission is to promote a business environment in which commercial organisations can optimise their effectiveness and revenues," he stated. "And to do that over the long term, we believe it is essential that our working environment is responsible, fair and ethical. If this is not the case, in a luxury product industry like ours the viability of our business will be threatened and we will run the risk of losing consumer confidence, which in this type

Lucapa successfully built, commissioned and Commenced commercial production! Recently at the AGM 2019, Miles Kennedy, Chairman (Non-Executive) - Lucapa Diamond Company Ltd said, Lucapa successfully built, commissioned and commenced commercial production. Lucapa’s goal is to grow as a producer. The company has to produce high-value diamonds on a sustainable and profitable basis from our two African diamond mines, Lulo in Angola and our new Mothae mine in the mountainous diamond-rich Kingdom of Lesotho. Despite being in commercial production for less than five months, Mothae has already proven itself to be one of a select few global mines producing large and high-quality diamonds. It has produced what regular Specials, rare Type IIa whites and fancy coloured gems. Mothae diamonds achieved stunning individual prices of up to US$36,000 per carat in the February commercial tender in Antwerp. Mothae was a trophy +100 carat diamond. This duly arrived before the ink drie

Representing eternal life and love! House of Dash has launched an eternity ring collection, named The Forever Collection. The diamond studded accessory is available in various carat sizes, starting at £495 exclusively on the official House of Dash. The ring collection was branded, Forever. Due to the fact that eternity bands have been around since 2000 BC, representing eternal life and love. House of Dash, however, wanted to modernise and improve that concept, since the rise of women self-buying, by using the eternity as a tool to communicate your personal style. “Our eternity rings are not solely created for weddings, engagements and anniversaries. They have been curated to allow the modern woman to express their fashionable taste. Thanks to social media, platforms like Instagram, eternity bands have evolved from their traditional use, into something really exciting. -Quincy Dash, Creative Director. The Forever Collection is curated in 18K Gold alloy in various

FPS visits any time in June: be prepared! The Economic Inspectorate of the FPS Economy is conducting inspections at randomly selected registered diamond companies to assess their compliance with the obligations under the anti-money laundering legislation. These inspections can take place in the coming weeks at the registered office of your company, with or without prior notice. The AWDC has drafted a checklist on how to prepare for the visits, which is available via this link under the question: "Are controls performed on compliance with the AML legislation in the diamond sector?” There you will find the full list of the documents you should have at the ready. If you have any further questions, feel free to get in touch with our AML & Compliance Helpdesk. If it appears that the company is not actually located at the registered address, you run the risk that the company will be deleted. It is advised to keep your bookkeeping and client identification files up

Act Responsibly to Find Opportunity Earlier this month, RJC returned to JCK Las Vegas to host a panel discussion on responsibility and trust in the jewellery supply chain. This year our panel consisted of: 1: Iris Van der Veken, Executive Director at RJC, 2: Raj Metha, Director at Rosy Blue NV, 3: Erik Jens, CEO at LuxuryFintech.com, 4: Gina Drosos, CEO at Signet Jewelers, 5: Jeff Corey, Owner at Day’s Jewelers, 6: Feriel Zerouki, Senior Vice President at De Beers Group & 6: Shekhar Shah, Director at Real Gems. David Bouffard, RJC Chair, opened the session and welcomed all panellists and attendees. The discussion was moderated by Brandee Dallow, RJC's Business Development Lead in North America and the panel presented insights on the following key areas: The RJC’s mission has never been more relevant. Consumers have a choice. Trust and transparency are the new equity. Product integrity and disclosure across the value chain to protect consumer confidence is the m

Focuses Makedontsi Gold Project, SE Bulgaria Velocity Minerals Ltd entered into an option agreement with Bulgarian partner, Gorubso Kardzhali A.D, to acquire a 70% interest in the 194-hectare Nadezhda property, which includes the Makedontsi gold project; a geological resource registered on the Bulgarian State balance.   Under the terms of the option agreement, Velocity can earn a 70% interest by delivering a mineral resource estimate prepared under National Instrument. The Makedontsi deposit is located in southeast (SE) Bulgaria. The deposit is open for expansion and requires systematic exploration to investigate its full potential and to deliver a mineral resource. The resource which is registered with the Ministry of Energy in Bulgaria is based on historical exploration, including approximately 250 drill holes (11,500m) and 5,000m of trenching completed by Gorubso. A Bulgarian explorer completed additional detailed mapping and drilled a single drill hole in 2001

Deep cut diamonds leak light and look much smaller Garry Holloway of Ideal-Scope and partner of Pricescope, is on a mission. His research of the past years has proven that, light leakage is one of the chief reasons a diamond appears smaller than its carat weight suggests. Holloway says it is important to communicate both to retailers and consumers about light leakage and how this phenomenon – the result of a bad cut - affects the perceived size of a diamond. A bad cut is often a choice a manufacturer will make for financial reasons. By slacking on the cut, his finished polished diamond retains more weight and achieves a better weight category – and consequently makes more money on the stone. “Diamonds are cut and polished to maximize carat weight. By squeezing a deeper cut into the next highest price bracket, it achieves a higher sales price," Holloway says. The diamond on the left weighs 0.94ct. The center and right side diamonds both weigh 1.00ct. All three re